Missing the Target: A Scoping Review of the Use of Percent Weight Loss for Obesity Management

Authors

• Diana Sherifali
• Megan Racey
• Donna Fitzpatrick-Lewis
• Michelle Greenway
• Sanjeev Sockalingam
• Jun Wada
• Soo Huat Teoh
• Ian Patton
• David Macklin
• Elizabeth F C van Rossum
• Luca Busetto
• Deborah Bade Horn
• J D Patricia Nece
• Morgan Emile Gabriel Salmon Leguede
• Nicole Pearce
• Carel Le Roux
• Jamy Ard
• Angela S Alberga
• Lee Kaplan
• Arya M Sharma
• Sean Wharton

Language

English

Publication Date

11-1-2025

Journal

Obesity Reviews

DOI

10.1111/obr.13960

PMID

40461407

PMCID

PMC12531721

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

6-3-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Introduction: To co-create comprehensive targets for obesity management, we need to understand the genesis and current use of percent weight loss targets in research. The goals of our scoping review are to (1) synthesize the literature on percent weight loss targets for adults with obesity and (2) discuss the percent weight loss targets in context with their health benefits.

Methods: We searched Cochrane, MEDLINE, and EMBASE for English language, pharmaceutical, and/or behavioral intervention studies in adults with obesity where the explicit aim of the study was weight reduction defined as a percent of body weight. Reviewers screened citations and extracted data including study characteristics.

Results: From 16,164 abstracts, we included 30 citations which were mostly randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n = 17) or quasi-experimental studies (n = 12) published between 1992 and 2024. Most of the studies had target weight loss goals between 3% and 10% of body weight (n = 28), while n = 2 had body weight loss goals of 15% or 30%. The proportion of participants who met the percent weight loss target ranged from 5.9% (nutrition only study) to 85% (pharmaceutical study). The studies reported different reasons for targeting a percentage of weight loss such as disease-specific outcomes, reduced risk of disease, or patient-reported outcomes.

Conclusion: Percent weight loss targets were based on similar research and were often not feasible nor sustainable for most participants. The design of these interventions and evaluation of obesity management would benefit from more patient-focused parameters which could help to co-design comprehensive targets for research and practice.

Keywords

Humans, Weight Loss, Obesity, Obesity Management, obesity management, percent body weight, scoping review, target, weight loss

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Sherifali, Diana; Racey, Megan; Fitzpatrick-Lewis, Donna; et al., "Missing the Target: A Scoping Review of the Use of Percent Weight Loss for Obesity Management" (2025). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 4516.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthmed_docs/4516